Chapter 3 – Getting Along


"Diiil!" Tommy called out as he and his friends raced out into the backyard to find his baby brother laughing along with a Dalmatian puppy. This one in particular was much smaller than the other ninety-nine pups and completely lacked in spots, thus making her fur a clear white. She wore an orange collar with a bone on the front. Dil looked at the doorway Tommy had entered the yard from as he smiled and his eyes widened.

"Tommy! Tommy!" Dil exclaimed happily as he stretched his arms out to reach him as Tommy walked over to him and hugged him. "Phew! I was so worried about you, Dil!" Tommy said in relief as many of the onlooking puppies "Awwwww!"'ed at the sight of Tommy and Dil embracing. Chuckie, Phil, Lil and Spike meanwhile were left speechless as they registered the huge amount of puppies surrounding them.

"...Wow. Whoever lives here must really love puppies." Phil commented.

"Hey... Where is the people who has these dogs anyway?" Tommy asked as he too noticed the armada of Dalmatians, many of which were staring at the babies with intrigue.

"Well, actually we don't have a human owner. Never had one as far as I can remember." Dawkins appeared behind Tommy as he answered his question.

"Wait, you mean that this house is all yours to live in?" Spike asked as he tilted his head in slight wonderment at how such a big family of dogs was capable of living without any human care or assistance.

"Yeah!"

"That's right!" Dizzy and Dee Dee responded respectively, earning intrigued and impressed looks from the babies.

"Wow! So you get to drink from the potty all day?" Phil asked.

"And dig up flowers?" Lil added with a question of her own.

"And wipe your butt everywhere without getting yelled at?!" Tommy asked, eager to know as his question received a response of confused looks from several of the pups, notably Dylan, Dolly and Dawkins.

"My grandpa always gets mad at Spike when he does that to the floor." Tommy explained after acknowledging what they were asking with their expressions.

"Did someone say "dig"?!" A puppy with fur stained with dirt patches suddenly popped up from the ground between Phil and Lil, the twins in question gawked in awe at this particular pup.

"Neat! You don't even have to take baths either!" Phil exclaimed excitedly as he noticed the muddy stains on the pup who's eyes widened in horror at what Phil had just said.

"B-B-Bath?! No way, jose! I'll never go into that cursed soapy water, ya dig?!" The pup protested before quickly retreating back into the hole as Dylan approached the hole with an irked look on his face as he looked down it.

"Diesel, you ARE going to your regular bath one day, mister! You can't avoid it forever!" Dylan called down into the hole after the pup whilst Phil and Lil laughed at the whole debacle.

"Pfft, why even bother, bro? He'll just get dirty again." Dolly snickered in a matter-of-fact tone before her attention was diverted back to the twins who gasped as Phil reached into the hole and pulled out something and held it between his fingers.

"Wow, that is the biggest worm I had ever seed." Lil said admiringly at the squirming pink insect Phil was holding.

"Well, looks like it's snack time!" Phil declared as he brought the worm to his face.

"Wait, what is he going to…?" Dawkins was about to ask but his words fell as he witnessed Phil put one end of the worm to his lips and slurp it up like a string of spaghetti before swallowing the creature whole in clear view of all of the puppies, many of them had a look of disgusted horror on their faces, especially Dylan and Dawkins.

"Oh… dog…" Dylan groaned as his face slowly turned a sickly green and he quickly clamped a paw over his mouth as his cheeks filled up with bile, Dawkins was close to having the same reaction.

"Woah!"

"Gross!"

"Cool!"

Three distinct voices called out which belonged to three pups who donned golden chains around the necks with a number as their tag from 1 to 3, the white spots on their ears matching the number on their chains. The trio was chuckling with impressed grins on their faces at Phil who just patted his belly in satisfaction as Dawkins finally found his voice.

"Y-You just ate a worm! A live worm!" Dawkins yelled out, still evidently horrified at what he had witnessed Phil just do.

"Oh, our dye-yet don't stick to just worms. Sometimes, we eat other bugs and even mud!" Phil declared in a tone that made it very clear that he didn't see any problem with how he and Lil fed themselves.

"But worms will always be our favrit! Especially the way they wiggle and dance all the way down!" Lil finished for her brother, Dylan having heard this couldn't take any more and finally ended up hurling onto the grass.

"I think it's gross too." Chuckie whispered to Dylan as he patted his back to make him feel better.


The family of pups were back in the house after getting over their initial shock of witnessing Phil eat a worm, joined by the infants and Spike as Tommy was sat on a cushion, having been instructed so by Dawkins as the intelligent pup using some kind of x-ray screen in front of Tommy connected to a tablet scanned the baby's inner workings to try to find the reason to how he and the other babies, sans Dil could understand them, but alas he saw nothing out of the ordinary that may hint at this ability. That is until Dawkins took a closer look at Tommy's head and noticed something at one of his ears.

"There seems to be some kind of foreign obstruction in Tommy's ear, I can't decipher what it is however." Dawkins pointed out as Tommy arched an eyebrow in confusion.

"Four in ob trunk shun?" Tommy repeated, not understanding what Dawkins was saying.

"He means there's something stuck in your ear." Dolly rephrased to Tommy as she pointed at the side of Tommy's head, who's eyes widened with realisation.

"Oh yeah! My daddy's invenshun!" Tommy remembered as he reached into his ear and pulled out the small device, encouraging Dawkins to come closer to take a closer look at it, as did Dylan.

"What is that?" Dylan was the first to ask upon noticing the tiny object.

"It's a thingy that helps a people hear dogs talk! My daddy made it, he's an inventor who wants to make toys for babies!" Tommy asked as he put the device back in his ear.

"Did you just say "Inventor"?!" Dawkins quickly inquired with an eager grin on his face, his tail wagging non-stop.

"Yeah! Tommy's daddy has made so many invenshuns! Even a Reptar on wheels!" Chuckie explained with a smile of his own, recalling a particular long adventure he had with his friends.

"What's Reptar?" Dizzy asked, her eyebrow raised curiously.

"He's only the bestest monster diosaur in the whole wide word! He destoys cities and breathes fire!" Phil answered Dizzy's question with excitement in his tone, letting out a roar for emphasis which made him and Lil laugh.

"...Sounds rather violent and inappropriate for the pups." Dylan muttered, recoiling slightly with concern.

"So do your friends have the funny ear things too?" Dolly asked Tommy who nodded before Phil spoke out once more.

"And he eats houses and billdings like they're for dinner!"

"Oh kibbles..." Dawkins mumbled in defeat as he anticipated what happened next.

"Trigger word!" Dolly exclaimed as immediately after, Phil was literally dog-piled by many of the pups whom chanted "Dinner!" repeatedly.


Surprisingly enough, it was dinner time for the Dalmatians as they rushed to the dining room and waited eagerly for their serving of kibble, the babies following Dylan and Dawkins as they approached a machine that appeared to have been made of many found bits and bobs.

"Uhh, what's all this stuff?" Phil asked as he analysed the device.

"This, my… bug eating friend is the bowl flinger. Capable to delivering food bowls to anyone within fifty miles per hour!" Dawkins explained with a bit of pride in his tone as Dylan pulled a lever, making the machine rumble before plastic bowls shot out of the device and landed in front of the many pups at the dining table, making Chuckie yelp in panic and dive to the ground, covering his head with his hands to avoid getting hit by a stray bowl.

"Wow! Look at that!" Phil said impressed at what the machine had just done, as was Lil and Tommy before he looked over in the distance.

"Hey Dylan, what is that thingy Dil is playing with?" Tommy asked as he and Dylan saw Dil reaching for a lever belonging to another machine, it's main component appearing to be an accordion attached to a hose.

"Oh, that's the kibble pump. That's what we use to serve dinner with." Dylan answered with a smile before quickly doing a double-take to find Dil's hands on the lever.

"NO WAIT, NOT THAT ONE! THAT'S THE EMERGENCY SWITCH!" Dylan exclaimed in panic as he rushed to try and stop Dil from pulling the lever.

"DIL, NO!" Tommy quickly called out, realising that Dylan's panicked reaction meant that whatever Dil was about to do was going to end in disaster.

...It was too late however as Dil grunted and leaned back, pulling the lever. The kibble pump let out a loud, long musical note before hissing as the hose filled up with dog food before spraying, the force of the kibble propulsion causing the hose to flail wildly, thus making the kibble fly everywhere.

"AAAAAAAAAHH! LOUD FOOD MONSTER, RUN AWAY!" Chuckie screamed in terror before running away to hide from the ensuing chaos. Tommy meanwhile rushed to the kibble pump and grabbed hold of the emergency lever, trying to pull it back to it's former position to turn it off.

"Ungh! Help me, you guys!" Tommy called out to the twins with a grunt, struggling to get the lever to even budge.

"The food machines are in meltdown!" Dawkins yelled in alarm with his paws on his head, before quickly yelping as he was pelted in the face with a blob of kibble.

"Um, Dawkins?" Dizzy appeared with a food bowl on her head as she let out a laugh before pointing at Dawkins. "I think you got some food on your face."

"It won't budge, Tommy!" Phil strained as the three babies were still struggling to shut down the machine. Chuckie meanwhile was watching the whole scenario from under the couch before he noticed Deepak desperately trying to find a place to protect himself from the flying kibble whilst panicked yelps came out of his mouth when the hose suddenly coiled itself around the zen pup like a boa constrictor and started to swing him around.

"THE FOOD MACHINE IS LIKE A RAGING SERPENT OF THE MIGHTY UNFORGIVING OCEANS!" Deepak screamed in terror whilst Chuckie was forced to watch in horror at the one pup who had helped him calm down and relax during one of his panic attacks was being tormented by the hose and possibly at risk of injury. He knew he had to do something, but what?

That was when he laid eyes on an outlet that the kibble pump was plugged into and after putting two and two together, his brows furrowed in concentration as he clambered out from under the couch.

"I'll save you, puppy!" Chuckie exclaimed in an ounce of newfound courage before rushing towards the kibble pump, managing to avoid the many lobs of kibble and the hose as he dove for the outlet and pulled the plug as the machine finally powered down. The hose lost all grip on Deepak as he slipped out from it and began to plummet to the floor, only for Chuckie to quickly dive under him and catch the pup in his arms.

"...That was close." Chuckie said as he stood up, still holding Deepak who was shaking like a leaf before he looked up at his saviour and wrapped his paws around his face in an attempt at a hug.

"Y-Your act of bravery positively contradicts your aura! May Guru Miaow bless you with gratitude for years to come!" Deepak said in a heartfelt tone as Tommy approached his best friend.

"Good job, Chuckie!" Tommy praised as he patted his orange-haired friend, the praise being followed by Phil and Lil and many of the other puppies who said their thanks to Chuckie who blushed.

"Oh, it was nuthin'!" Chuckie uttered out with a chuckle.

"Bad Mr. Curly- Err, Dil!" Dylan scolded Dil who just babbled in response, not understanding the mess he had caused, Dolly meanwhile just laughed as did Dizzy and Dee Dee.

"You know, I could get to liking these babies." Dolly said with a smile when she and the others heard a yawn from upstairs and looked up to see a larger Dalmatian with a stocky build come out of one of the rooms, having been woken up by all the commotion to see what was going on.

"I'm trying to get some sleep-" The adult Dalmatian paused as he suddenly noticed the babies downstairs. His bloodshot eyes widened and his ears flattened as he fully registered what he was seeing.

"Why are there human babies in the house?" He said, using every nerve he had in him to refrain from panicking. Dylan looked over at Dizzy and Dee Dee briefly. Not wanting to get them into trouble, he looked up at the adult dog at the top of the stairs with a hesitant look.

"Um, well… That's kinda… maybe my fault?" Dylan stammered before pulling a very sheepish grin.

"They're our..." Dee Dee began, appearing behind Tommy.

"New neighbours! From across the street!" Dizzy finished, appearing on top of Phil's head.

The adult Dalmatian's shock turned to surprise before he shook his head to get the remaining bit of sleep out of him. "Across the street? ...You mean the house that no one has lived in for years?!" He asked as he padded downstairs to get a better look at the human visitors.

"Believe it or not, yes. I myself never thought that particular house would've been inhabited and just be left to collect dust for the many years to come." Dawkins said as he examined the kibble pump in case if it was damaged anywhere.

"I see… And how exactly did this happen?" The adult dog asked as he looked around to find most of the house splattered with kibble.

"I'm sorry, Dylan's daddy! Dil just can't help pulling levers! He's just a baby!" Tommy apologised, having somehow figured out that this bigger Dalmatian was the father of the puppies. Dylan's dad looked down at Dil and smiled a little when his eyes laid on him.

"Well, hey there little fella." He cooed adoringly at Tommy's baby brother, his eyes becoming glistening saucers.

"Doggy, doggy!" Dil exclaimed with a laugh as the pups' father chuckled.

"Tommy, can I aks a question?" Chuckie requested before asking what he had on his mind. "If that really is the puppies daddy, then where's the mommy?" Tommy put a finger to his lips in thought.

"Ah, well she's currently at-" The father's answer was cut short as the front door opened as everyone turned to see an adult Dalmatian at the open doorway. This one however had a slimmer and feminine build, which hinted at her obviously being female. She was carrying a first aid box in her mouth and her collar being blue with a tag that resembled a person's name tag in a seafoam colour.

"Phew, such a hectic day today. Didn't think we would have so many patients coming in and..." The female adult's words stopped as she stepped in and blinked to find the infants with the pups and her husband.

"Oh? I didn't think we'd be getting visitors."


"Wait wait wait, so let us get this straight." The pups' mother, whom was known as 'Delilah' began.

"You're saying that one of these human babies' parents is an inventor and they made small devices that lets them understand dogs?!" The father, Doug asked in a mix of astonishment and disbelief.

"I know it sounds crazy, but it's true! How else would they know what we're saying?" Dolly answered before giving them a question of their own.

"Well, they didn't work before. My daddy tried using one on Spike and he looked sad." Tommy pointed out to the two adult canines.

"But I fixed them and they now work!" Phil said pridefully whilst crossing his arms.

"You broked them, Philip!" Lil quickly shot down Phil's gloating, remembering that Phil had unintentionally spilled milk on the translators.

"Well they still workid, Lillian!" Phil immediately shot back.

"AH AH AH!" Delilah quickly exclaimed, already sensing an argument about to unfold between the twins. That, combined with the firm look Delilah was giving them to ensure that she was serious was enough to stop them.

"Now… There is one question I'd like to ask the humans themselves." Delilah stated before looking over at the babies.

"Do your parents actually know that you're here?" None of the babies knew how to answer that question until Tommy spoke up.

"Well, we were all so worried about Dil because before we had our nap, here was with us and when we woke up, he was gone!" Tommy explained as Delilah nodded in understanding.

"So you went to find him. And how exactly did Dil get here?" Delilah asked, a little confused as Dizzy and Dee Dee silently gulped and slowly padded away to leave the room.

"Dizzy and Dee Dee Dalmatian, come back here please." Delilah called out sternly before the two could even reach the doorway as they slowly turned and slumped back to their mother and father as their ears hung sadly.

"...Sorry, mum. We just wanted him to say "Hi" to our family." Dizzy said apologetically, her gaze focused on the floor.

"They are our new neighbours after all." Dee Dee added as Delilah gently patted their heads with a front paw.

"I understand, girls. But next time, just wait until either of us gets home, alright?" Delilah softly said to them as they both nodded.

Chuckie meanwhile had been watching the little motherly moment between Delilah and two of her puppies and even though he didn't show it, he felt a little wave of sadness flood his body as he looked down at the floor despondently.

For a brief moment, it was like he desired something Dylan and his siblings had that he didn't.


WriterForGod42 asks: "Oh, man, this was an excellent blend from the first episode of 101 Dalmatian Street and the diaper changing scene from the Rugrats movie. Oh, another idea just popped into my head; Angelica and Claurrisa, sorry if I spelled her name wrong, team up and mess with the new friends. Then the family and the Babies work together to somewhat get back at them."

Thanks Writer. And don't worry, I definitely plan on having Angelica and Clarissa join forces real soon. Stay tuned.